Six arrested at Bangor, Brewer roadblocks

July 19, 1993 12:00 am

Six people were arrested Saturday night in roadblocks that combined the efforts of three police agencies.

Bangor police Sgt. James Owens said Sunday the roadblocks, a joint project of the Bangor and Brewer police departments and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, were set up in various locations, including Interstate 395 and the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge.

Funding for the project came from Bureau of Highway Safety grants totaling $141,769 and distributed to 34 police agencies around the state. Among them were Bangor, which received $7,500, and Brewer, which received $4,000.

According to a July 14 press release from the bureau announcing the grants, the funds are to pay overtime to officers on special duty for detaining motorists who are driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The departments which received the money were chosen based on their interest in the program and on the number of alcohol-related accidents and drunken-driving arrests in their jurisdictions, according to the press release.

Owens said the roadblock was Bangor’s third project since it received the grant money. Earlier in the week, it conducted two “saturated patrols,” in which extra officers were put on duty specifically to deal with intoxicated motorists.

In Saturday night’s roadblocks, all but one of the arrests were made by Brewer police. The remaining one was made by Bangor.